Advice to consider when breaking news of a divorce to children

Age of children tends to be an important factor in how they cope with divorce

One of the most common concerns raised by parents going through divorce is how their children will manage with such a momentous occasion. Breaking the news of a divorce to a child is difficult and many parents put off a divorce because they don't want to risk hurting their children. Such delays are understandable, but it is equally important to understand that raising a child in an unhappy marriage is unlikely to being doing that child any favors. As the Huffington Post reports, for parents who have decided to divorce, how they decide to break the news to their children will largely depend on the age of the children.

Every child is different

Age is a huge factor when it comes to children and divorce. Toddlers, for example, have yet to develop the mental capacity to understand necessarily what is happening in a divorce, but they will be extremely sensitive to changes in household routine. As such, toddlers need to be protected as much as possible from the instability that can be caused by the breakdown of a marriage.

Slightly older children, however, who are in school will understand what divorce is but they will still largely see the world as an extension of themselves, meaning they are likelier to assume that they are responsible for their parents' divorce. School-age children need stability just as much as toddlers do, but they also need to be told by their parents on a regular basis that they are still loved and that the divorce is solely between the parents and doesn't involve the child.

Don't blame yourself

Divorcing parents often tend to feel guilty about ending a marriage when children are involved. Such guilt, however, tends to be misguided. As Canoe News recently reported, an extensive study at a Canadian university recently concluded that children raised by single mothers (single-father households, unfortunately, were not studied) were just as well adjusted as adults as children raised in two-parent homes.

The study also found that children raised by single mothers tended to have higher job-satisfaction rates and lower divorce rates than their two-parent household-raised peers. Instead of assuming that divorce will set a child at a disadvantage, parents should assume that so long as their children continue to receive the same level of support as they received before the divorce then they will be well set to succeed in life.

Family law concerns

Anybody who is currently going through a divorce, especially if they have children, should strive to make sure they deal with the divorce in the best way possible. A family law attorney with years of legal experience can provide the expert advice that divorcing parents often need in order to understand how best to react to an often challenging situation. By contacting such an attorney today, divorcing parents will have taken an important step in ensuring their divorce is as smooth a life transition as possible for both themselves and their children.